


Sand Dollars and a Shiny Rock

by counting2fifteen, paperowl, tsukkiglasses



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Vacation, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 11:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20389204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/counting2fifteen/pseuds/counting2fifteen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperowl/pseuds/paperowl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukkiglasses/pseuds/tsukkiglasses
Summary: Dan and Phil go on vacation, Phil tries to propose, things go terribly wrong, but also kind of right.





	Sand Dollars and a Shiny Rock

**Author's Note:**

> written for the @phanfictionevents telephone thing. bucketofphan wrote the first part, paperowl (allbymyshelf on tumblr) wrote the second, and I (counting2fifteen) wrote the last one! 
> 
> I would just like to say that this was actually really hard so please be gentle with me. but it is kind of cool. 
> 
> the prompt definitely had something to do with proposal and maybe something to do with vacation

“Dan, it's time to wake up!” 

Dan groaned and rolled over onto the empty side of the bed, making Phil laugh. It was obvious that he was awake but he just didn't want to get up out of their bed, which Phil could totally understand. They had just spent what seemed like forever on a plane only to land in California and immediately get lost trying to find their rental home. By the time both of them finally got in the house and in the master bedroom they were exhausted so Dan decided to just call it a night.

It was no longer night though and Phil had a whole beach day for them planned. They were only on the beach for one day though before heading back off to spend time with friends and film some collabs that their fans had been asking for for a while so getting up and ready was Phil's number one priority. 

Phil moved over to his side of the bed where Dan had rolled himself to. He couldn't help but smile at how his boyfriend had gotten himself tangled in the blankets just so he wouldn't have to leave the bed. But Phil wasn't having any of it that morning, grabbing Dan's ankles and pulling him closer to the end of the bed. 

“Baby please get up. I have a whole day planned for us and it's already past 10.” 

Dan grunted what Phil thought sounded like a no and wiggled his way back up onto the bed. Phil rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s antics, backing away. 

“That's fine then, don't get up. I'm sure I'll run into Sam the Surfer somewhere and me and him can just hang out.” 

He smirked and turned away, heading over to where they had put their suitcases last night. He opened Dan's and pulled out the new swimsuit that Dan had got before their trip. It was quite plain, just a nice dark blue, but if Dan liked it then Phil liked it.

Phil made sure to grab the shirt that was paired with it as well along with the pair of shoes Dan had brought along to go on the beach. He placed the outfit on the end of the bed and smiled to himself when he noticed his favorite brown curls peeking out from under the covers. 

“I'm gonna go make some coffee. Come say hi when you're dressed.” 

And with that Phil disappeared through the doorway. He could hear Dan get out of the bed as he entered the kitchen and a sudden wave of nerves crashed over him. Sam the Surfer was a bit of a sore topic between the two, meaning that he was only ever brought up as leverage or because the fans wanted to know something. He hoped Dan wasn't too mad at him. 

Phil had just found the coffee they had brought with them when Dan stepped into the room. He cleared his throat, grabbing Phil's attention. Phil stood up and looked at his boyfriend, a smile spreading across his face. 

“You look great babe.” He took a few steps to Dan and grabbed Dan's hand. Dan smiled back at him and lent down slightly to kiss Phil's forehead. 

“Why don't we go out for breakfast and then head to the beach?” Dan suggested, sleep still clouding his eyes. 

“Yeah, okay, that sounds great.” 

Phil let Dan lead him towards the door, breaking away from his love long enough to slip Dan's present into his pocket. All he could hope for now is that the waves didn't knock the ring out. 

\-----

Phil stepped out the door and locked it behind them, before interlacing his fingers with Dan’s and walking towards a small cafe for breakfast. Their rental house was near the beach and a pleasantly salty breeze kept the air cool. Well, cool for June in California.

Phil resisted the urge to hurry Dan along too much, they were on vacation after all. But given how Dan still hadn’t really woken up, they spent their sweet time meandering towards the cafe. Phil didn’t mind too much, the view was beautiful and the air was clean and fresh. Plus, they had time to get acquainted with the area near their rental house while not being incredibly lost.

The cafe was a cute little place that felt very homey, probably due to the slightly bossy grandmother who seated them. By the way she ordered the employees around it appeared as though she owned the place. 

Once seated, and when he was absolutely sure she was out of range, Phil whispered, “I swear she smacked my ass with that hand towel because I was moving too slowly.”

Dan sofly snorted,”Of course she did Phil, the weird ones always pick you don’t they?”

“What? I can’t help it!” Phil protested, searching for at least a decent defense. “At least I have plenty of fun stories to tell at parties, Mr. I-Have-No-Friends-  
And-I-Never-Leave-The-House.”

“Phil.” Dan said flatly, “When was the last time you even went to a party? Let alone one that needed weird person magnet stories” 

Phil sighed, ”Touchè. But for the record, you only get this one because it’s your birthday and I love you. So savor this moment because it won’t happen again for quite a while.”

Dan smiled and picked up his menu, playfully throwing a, “Sure, Lester. You believe that.” across the table.

“Hey!” Phil said halfheartedly, while also grabbing his menu and flipping through it. After a considerable amount of time waffling (ha!) between waffles and pancakes, he finally convinced Dan to get the waffles while he got the pancakes so that they could split.

The food smelled delicious, and once served Phil was eager to dig in, though not before making sure that he and Dan got half each of the waffles and pancakes. They were heavenly when drenched in syrup, and Phil could swear he was having an out of body experience.

Phil had such an out of body experience in fact, that apparently he forgot how to drink coffee, and the next time he went to take a sip he spilled half the cup on his shirt and pants. That brought him back to his body so fast he probably got mental whiplash.

“Crap!” He quietly hissed while pulling napkins out of the dispenser and furiously dabbing at his clothes. Dan took a moment to snicker at Phil’s classic display of clumsiness before deigning to help out. Of course he went straight for the pants, this was Dan we were talking about after all.

Phil, terrified Dan would feel the lump in his pocket, swatted his hand out of the way and joked quietly enough only Dan could hear, “Trying to feel me up, eh? Next time maybe not in public, please.” 

Dan slid back to a comfortable position in his seat and his half smile was accompanied by a quirked eyebrow, “Worth a shot though, it is my birthday after all.” 

Phil chuckled, “I’m starting to wonder if knowing your birthdate is privileged knowledge, reserved only for people who won’t abuse the power.”

“Maybe,” Dan shrugged, “But birthdays wouldn’t be as fun then.”

“Depends,” Phil mused. 

Before he could continue that train of thought, Dan interrupted him, “Do you want to go back to the house to change before we head to the beach?”

“No thanks, the ocean’ll clean me just fine”

“You sure? I don’t think caffeine is good for fish.”

“Um, how do you know that caffeine is bad for fish. For all you know, they could love it, who doesn’t like extra energy?”

What ensued was a debate on whether or not caffeine was good for animals that lasted them through the rest of breakfast and partway down to the beach. In the midst of their lively discussion Phil smiled to himself, today was perfect. He couldn’t ask for a better day to propose.

\-----

The beach was surprisingly empty for such a nice day. Phil decided not to question it. He set up their towels a careful distance away from the sea- not so close that he’d have to move them when the tide came in, but not so far that they’d have to walk a foot more than necessary to reach the ocean. He rummaged through their bag, but came up empty handed.

“Hey, Dan?” he asked.

“Hmm?” Dan was already halfway to the waves.

“Did you remember to pack the sunscreen?”

Dan froze. “We can go back.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure? I really don’t want a replay of the skin fic.”

Phil cringed. “Dan!”

“Sorry. But really, Phil, we should go back. You know how we both burn. I don’t want to have a sunburn for the rest of vacation.”

“What time is it?” Phil asked, then immediately regretted it. 

Dan frowned. “Just past noon, why? Does it matter what time it is?”

“No, no!” Phil rushed to protest. “It’s just, let’s just stay here for a while. We won’t get sunburned in just half an hour and afterwards we can get lunch and stop by the house.”

Dan raised his eyebrows. “You’re being weird, but okay.”

“I’m not being weird,” Phil insisted. “You’re being weird.”

“Babe, seriously, it’s your skin cancer. It’s fine. You’re making this weirder. Just stop.”

Phil stopped. Then realized his dilemma.

He couldn’t go in the water. The risk that the ring would be dislodged from his disturbingly shallow pocket was too high. He had been hoping Dan would be content with a short walk on the beach, or wandering through ankle deep water, but Dan was already waist deep and still swimming out.

Phil glanced at Dan, checking that he wasn’t looking, before slipping the ring out of his pocket and into their bag.

He quickly caught up with Dan, who had swam out just past where his feet could touch and was treading water. From there, they spent more time than they probably should splashing each other, dunking each other, and just floating, letting the waves carry their bodies.

After what felt like hours (but was hopefully actually only one or two), they decided to head back to shore.

Dan smirked. “Race you?” Before Phil could complain that he was farther out than Dan, Dan was off. Phil panicked, remembering the ring in the bag. He swam as quickly as he could, but Dan still beat him.

Dan ran back to their towels, laughing. “That’s what you get for all those All or Nothings.”

“Hey,” Phil panted.

Dan reached for the bag. “Please tell me we remembered the water. I’m actually going to die of thirst.”

For the second time in half a minute, Phil panicked. He rushed for Dan and jumped, tackling him. They landed in the sand. “What the hell?” Dan asked, but he was laughing.

Phil took the opportunity to lean down and kiss him. Dan leaned into him, and Phil savored the taste of his mouth, the slight curl of his lips, before pulling away.

“What was that for, Mr. But-We’re-In-Public?” Dan laughed.

“You’re just really cute,” Phil mumbled.

“You’re really cute too, but I’m still going to die of thirst.” Dan reached for the bag again, and this time Phil could do nothing but watch helplessly as Dan opened the bag and the ring spilled out.

There was an awful moment of silence before Dan said, so quietly Phil could barely hear, “Oh.”

Phil froze.

“I-” Dan’s voice was so soft. “I didn’t know.” Dan’s face suddenly morphed to concern. “Are you okay?”

Phil touched his face and realized he was crying. “I…”

Dan picked up the ring, staring at it. “Wait- sorry, is that why you wanted to know what time it was?”

Phil sniffled. “I had a surprise planned and everything. Martyn was helping me set it up.”

Dan patted Phil’s back, looking horrified. “I had no idea.”

“It’s okay,” Phil reassured Dan through his tears.

“The answer is yes,” Dan said, still patting Phil’s back.

Phil started crying harder.

“I am so sorry,” Dan said.

“No,” Phil managed, “Happy tears.”

Dan gave up on patting Phil’s back and gathered him into a hug. “It wouldn’t be very us if something didn’t go terribly wrong, would it?”

“I guess not,” Phil said, muffled by Dan’s shoulder.

Dan pulled back and slipped the ring on his finger. “Now how about we head back and you can show me your surprise?”

“It’s not really a surprise anymore.”

Dan stood and offered Phil a hand up. “I’ll pretend it is.”

As they walked back towards their rental house and Phil’s surprise, they left their hands interlaced.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr version](https://counting2fifteen.tumblr.com/post/187260403468/sand-dollars-and-a-shiny-rock) like/rb/kudos/comment/etc if you want :)


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